Bedtime Stories
by SingularToast
Summary: 'Judge Gabranth' tells Larsa's young daughter a story about a Princess and a Knight. Spoilers for the game.


**You may have to imagine time being skewed here a little bit, since Larsa would have to grow up first and then have a child old enough to listen to this story, while still having Basch-Gabranth tell it ...**

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Sighing, the man folded his arms and looked down at the young girl in front of him. She had begged and begged, and how could he refuse such a pleading expression? The maid should be coming soon to collect her, so he may not ever get far into his story.

Finally capitulating, much to the girl's delight, he settled down on a stool in the middle of the room. Waiting as the young girl ran over, her bright brown curls bouncing as she moved, he clasped his hands together as she sat down on the ground in front of him. Her eyes looked up at him eagerly, and the man thought long and hard about what story he could possibly entertain her with.

Then finally, the perfect one came to mind. Clearing his throat, he began his tale.

"There was once a beautiful Princess, the most beautiful Princess in all of Ivalice, and she lived in the Royal City of Rabanastre—"

"But that's a Dalmascan city! I thought you'd tell a story about Archadia!"

"Shush, do you want to hear a story or not?" That seemed to silence her pretty quickly, and the man had to stifle the smile that threatened to show.

"The Princess was kind and strong, and wanted only the best for her Kingdom. The people loved her, and everyone rejoiced when the Princess married a Prince as kind and as caring as she was. Everyone, except one lowly knight. He loved the Princess, he loved her so much, and was very sad to see her with another man."

The child in front of him sighed, her eyes dreamy as she imagined such a tale. He could see the picture painted in her mind; the Princess gowned in a flowing white dress, standing next to her dashing Prince as they waved to the people of Rabanastre. But in the shadows hid a sad knight, looking on at the couple without a smile to grace his face.

"But soon tragedy struck. A war was waged between Archadia and Rozarria, and the Kingdom of Dalmasca was caught in the middle. The Prince left with his army to fight the oncoming forces – but they were too strong. The Prince died, and the Knight who loved the Kingdom's Princess carried him home. He knew that she had loved her Prince, and would be terribly sad to hear the news. But tragedy struck twice more."

"Bad news always comes in threes," the young girl said, nodding wisely, but her eyes were wide as she once again focussed on listening to his story.

"Indeed. It was said that during the battle, a Knight committed treason and murdered the Dalmascan King. Can you guess who the Knight was?"

"No!" The girl gasped, her hands rising to cover her face. She was very quick, a very bright girl – as bright as her father. "No, no, no, he saved the Prince! He couldn't have killed the King!"

"That's right, but no one believed him – not even his beloved Princess. He was sentenced to death for his crime."

Her lips turning downward, the young girl hugged her knees to her chest. "I don't like this story anymore," she whispered.

"Not to worry dearling, it does get better. Though the war was over, Dalmasca now belonged to the Archadian Empire. The Princess left her Kingdom, pretending that she died in order to save herself, and gathered a group of people – warriors, soldiers, and honest townspeople – to help her rise up against the Archadians. But the Knight didn't know that his Princess still lived, as he had only heard the rumours that were being spread. He thought his true love was gone. The Knight lay in the dungeons of Nalbina, left for dead but never dying. He had heard that his Princess was dead, and despaired. He had lost everything; his Kingdom, his life, and his Princess."

"Why didn't he die?" The young girl asked, worry still clearly showing in her gaze.

A mirthless smile touched the man's face, and he said, "It was the will of the world. A punishment worse than death – to live, always remembering what had happened to the world he had once loved."

"The poor Knight …"

"But the Knight felt hope once again when a group of Sky Pirates helped him escape from his cage in Nalbina."

"Sky Pirates!" Immediately, as most young children did when they heard anything relating to Sky Pirates, her eyes lit up and she sat up straighter.

"That's right, Sky Pirates. A suave, debonair Pirate, a wandering Viera, and two orphaned Rabanastrans."

"A Viera …?" The child queried, clearly sceptical about a Viera being a Sky Pirate.

"Yes, a Viera. This is my story, now hush. Stop interrupting. The Sky Pirates and the Knight battled their way through the dungeons and the Barheim Passage, fighting all sorts of monsters and collecting all sorts of treasures, until they broke out into the hot sun of the Dalmascan Estersand."

"Did the Knight go back to Rabanastre? Did he tell them he didn't kill the King?"

The man shook his head. "No one would have listened – they all believed what they had been told, that he was a traitor, and he couldn't prove them otherwise. But the group's travels lead them to the Dreadnought Leviathan as captives – and guess who was also being held on the ship?"

The girl's eyes widened again – he swore they couldn't grow any bigger – and she let out a small, "Who?"

"The Princess. The Archadians had captured her in a battle of Resistance forces. But she wasn't happy to see the Knight. In front of all the Archadians and the Sky Pirates, she slapped him."

The girl rolled back and giggled to herself at the thought, but then she seemed to remember the history of the story and her demeanour sobered once more. "She still didn't believe him."

"No, she still thought that he killed her father."

"What happened then?"

"The group had to band together and fight their way off the Leviathan. But even then there were still troubles in the land. Though they knew she was the Princess, the Archadians wouldn't accept her until she could prove that she was Royalty, and the Princess swore she would never take the throne again until she could rid Dalmasca of the Archadians hold."

"So what did she do?"

"She fought. With the Sky Pirates help, and the help of the Knight who still loved her so, she fought against the Empire. They travelled all across Valendia and Ordalia, never stopping until the Princess could take back _her_ Dalmasca and return to the throne."

"And the Knight?" The girl asked.

"He fought by his Princess' side, always there for her, always supporting her."

"Did she ever forgive him? Did she ever find out that he didn't do it?" A small frown crossed the girl's face then, and she looked up at the man with an imploring expression on her face. "Who _did_ do it?"

"It was the Knight's evil twin brother. An Archadian, posing as the Dalmascan Knight."

The young girl gasped in shock again, and simply stared.

The man chuckled, assuming that she wanted him to continue. "The group's travels lead them to the edge of the world, to the Pharos at Ridorana Cataract, where they battle the Knight's evil twin – and the evil twin told the Princess the true story himself."

"Do they kill him?" The girl asked with fervour, clearly wishing that they had.

"They don't kill him, but they did defeat him, and the Princess finally believed her Knight."

"Did she say sorry?" The girl asked, her voice stern.

The man once again had to choke back his laughter – her father had just started teaching her the importance of apologising for your wrongdoings. He was sure her father would be pleased to hear that his teachings were coming along so well. "She did, and the Knight forgave her. He loved her too much to hold a grudge against her for believing what the whole world thought to be true. But now, back to my story. The group then heard of a great battle that was to take place, a battle that the Resistance was fighting against the Archadians high above in the skies of Rabanastre. The Princess and the Knight lead the Sky Pirates back to the Royal City, and they joined in the battle. On board the Sky Pirate's great airship, they soared through the skies, battled other airships and all the Archadians with the help of the Resistance. Finally, they won."

The girl shrieked and jumped up, and the man had to watch in confusion for a moment before he realised that she was doing her own version of a victory dance. He had to laugh again when she threw her arms up and started making airship noises, zooming through the room as she 'attacked' the furniture. Distracted from his story, the man finally noticed the girl's maid waiting patiently by the door. The woman smiled sadly at him, and he mouthed, 'Is it time to go?'

She nodded, and stepped inside. "Lady Riselle? The Emperor wants to see you before you go to bed."

Stopping her antics, little Lady Riselle immediately saddened, her bottom lip protruding in a pout as her eyes misted over. "But he hasn't finished the story! Please let him finish the story!" Running over to the man, she scrambled up onto his lap, looking up at his face with those adorable eyes. "Did they win? Did the Princess go back to Rabanastre? Did she and the Knight live happily ever after?"

Smiling down at the girl, the man nodded and said, "Yes, my Lady. Dalmasca was free, and the Knight and the Princess lived happily ever after."

Sighing, her face clear of any worry, she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. "That was a very good story. I'll have to tell Daddy."

Nodding, the man said, "You better go quick, or he'll leave before you can say goodbye."

Sliding back to the floor, Riselle ran for the door of her room and passed the maid, disappearing into the halls beyond. No need to tell her twice.

"That was quite a story," the maid said, glancing back at the man. "Do you really think the Knight and his Princess lived happily ever after?"

The man didn't answer at first, and instead simply gazed down at the helm that lay to the side of his stool. His story had been sparse, and there were so many parts that he had skipped over, glossed over, or mangled entirely to make the story more enjoyable for the little Archadian girl – he hoped his twin would forgive him for naming him the 'evil' one.

But all the memories were as fresh as they had ever been. In his mind's eye he could still picture the explosions overhead as he fought by Prince Rasler's side, could still feel the gnawing hunger in his stomach as he sat in the hanging cell in Nalbina, and could still see the glory of the clear blue heavens over Rabanastre when the war ended.

"I hope so," was all he told her, raising his helm from the floor and getting to his feet. "I truly hope they are all living happily in their ever afters."

Again the sad smile graced her lips, and the maid curtseyed low. "Good night, Judge Gabranth."

The helm now securely placed over his head, the Judge nodded but once, and left the room.


End file.
